How a Swiss Boutique Recruiting Firm CEO and Entrepreneur is Coping during COVID-19

In this unusual year of global disconnection, we’re staying in touch with our friends around the world. We’re highlighting another global entrepreneur to hear how pivoting, reinventing and adjusting to the challenges of 2020 is just part of the new normal. Meet Kim Clare Johansson, the founder and CEO of SalesAhead, a Swiss recruiting firm, and a dear friend of Michele Rhudy.

1. Tell us about your business.

SalesAhead is a boutique recruitment firm based in Zurich, Switzerland, specializing in salespeople, from a junior to senior level Europe-wide. I founded the company back in 2009, and we average three employees.

We cover all industries except banking and our main clients are within FMCG (luxury goods, fashion, and retail) and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) companies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and as well corporate accounts. Our average placed person earns between 120K – 160K CHF (or $131,230 to $174,973) , and we charge 25% of the new hire’s annual salary.

2. How has your business pivoted or adjusted because of the chaos 2020?

Since the pandemic started here in Switzerland, at the beginning of March 2020, things have not really affected my business at SalesAhead. Current assignments at that time, however, were set on hold in March 2020 or postponed to the end of the lockdown in May 2020.

During this period, we, like many other companies, received support from the government in the form of loans and support for short-time works. The banks gave loans to companies, so-called COVID19 loans up to 10% of the annual revenue but with a maximum of CHF 500’000. These loans are secured by the Swiss government with 0% interest rate. Payback time is five years, and currently they are talking about seven years.

These loans were paid out within less than one hour. In addition, unemployment insurance covers short-time work with 80% of the annual salary. Yes, the economy is slowing down; however, companies are still able to pay salaries and bills with this support. In addition, we have strong purchasing power within Switzerland, which also helps us to overcome the current crisis (depending, of course, how long this pandemic will last).

There is always a need for good salespeople, in good and bad times. Therefore, in these 11 years I have never really experienced any large deviation in bookings. International Executive Search businesses in general are hit hard, as international travel is heavily restricted or even closed.

3. How has COVID affected how you work and connect with employees and customers?

We worked from home only during our lockdown of eight weeks. Otherwise, we all have our own office and enough parking spaces, so employees can come with their car to work and not use public transportation. Therefore, there has been not much change in working with my employees.

With customers however, we have experienced much more Skype, Zoom and Teams meetings. This has been new for us and more challenging, as meeting the hiring manager in person is usually crucial for us (to match the right person). You get a much better feeling about someone’s personality once you meet someone in person rather than virtual.

The same goes for candidates, especially in sales recruitment. This has been a bit of a challenge for us. We also introduced wearing facemasks during physical interviews, which I find strange as you are not seeing the other persons’ face properly. Nevertheless, I guess this will be the new reality for some months, if not years, ahead.

4. What is your professional outlook for 2021?

We have not experienced a great number of unemployment yet, but I do believe this number will rise in Switzerland by summer 2021.In September 2020, Swiss unemployment was 3.2%. Especially jobs in hospitality, entertainment and tourism will be massively lost, but other sectors will remain stable. Once a vaccine is found for COVID19 the economy will pick up quickly again in Switzerland, I believe.

5. Do you have any communication and management advice for leaders during the pandemic?

Home offices have become the new normal here in Switzerland. Before the pandemic, we were not a country where a home office was common except in international companies. Especially within SME’s.

Therefore, this new trend challenges management and leaders to this new style of remote management. I recently wrote an article about the topic on home office and management. There I stated that many managers and business owners are having difficulties adapting to this new situation. They feel they lose track of their employees and lose control, to some extent.

Managers who did not believe in home offices before have now been proven differently, that indeed business continues as normal, and that it is possible to work with all kind of new tools to achieve their goals.

Swiss people are, in general, reliable, punctual, and trustworthy employees and therefore employees take their responsibility seriously. I believe frequent communication in terms of current situation, strategy and outlook in a transparent way are important, so the trust stays within teams and organizations.

The good news is that we are all sitting in the same boat with stormy seas, and we all have the same uncertainty and fear. Therefore, I believe it is important to have even more open discussions with employees and customers.

Michele Rhudy met Kim Clare Johansson (in the middle) in 2013 at Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Women’s Leadership Forum. The two entrepreneurs stay in touch regularly and have met up in Florida, Switzerland and North Carolina in recent years.